Gusseted article

ABSTRACT

A gusset pouch and a method of making the pouch is disclosed. The pouch consists of two webs of material that have coterminous marginal edges with the first web having a width greater than the second web between the marginal edges. The first web has a main body portion substantially the same width as the second web with an interconnecting segment between the main body portion and each of the receptive marginal edges. The two webs are interconnected or adhered to each other at one end while the segments each have first and second overlapping portions respectively adhered to the first web and to the second web. The method of making the package or pouch includes folding the first web along spaced fold lines to produce first and second overlapping portions adjacent each marginal edge with the first fold lines spaced inwardly from the respective marginal edges, positioning a second web adjacent the first web and heat sealing the webs to each other along the exposed portions to produce a gusseted tube. The gusseted tube can then be formed in individual pouches by heat sealing transversely of the webs at longitudinally spaced locations and severing the webs along one edge of the transverse heat seal.

o United States Patent [191 [1 1 3,851,814 Stage Dec. 3, 1974 GUSSETEDARTICLE [57] ABSTRACT [75] Inventor: Leo Stage Roselle Park A gussetpouch and a method of making the pouch is [73] Assignee; ArveyCorporation, Chicago, disclosed. The pouch consists of two webs ofmaterial that have coterminous marginal edges with the first [22] Flled:1972 web having a width greater than the second web be- 211 App] 29 9tween the marginal edges. The first web has a main body portionsubstantially the same width as the second web with an interconnectingsegment between the [52] U.S. Cl 229/53, 206/439, 229/35 MF, main bodyportion and each of the receptive marginal 229/62 229/DIG- 3 edges. Thetwo webs are interconnected or adhered to hit. Cl. B65d 31/10 each otherat one end while h segments each have [58] held of Search 229/53 MF?first and second overlapping portions respectively ad- 206/632 439 heredto the first web and to the second web.

The method of making the package or pouch includes [56] References Citedfolding the first web along spaced fold lines to UNITED STATES PATENTSproduce first and second overlapping portions 2,395,077 2/1946Southwick, Jr. 229/53 X adjacent each marginal edge the first lines2524930 10/1950 Allen spaced inwardly from the respective marginaledges, i I positioning a second web adjacent the first web and 3'2696398H9 g at MF X heat sealing the webs to each other along the exposed3:338:01) 8/1967 Trewella etal. 206/632 R x Pomons to Produce 3 3 tube-The gusseted tube can then be formed in individual pouches by heatPrimary Examiner wimam L Price sealing transversely of the webs atlongitudinally Assistant Emml-ner stephen P. Garbe spaced locations andsevering the webs along one edge Attorney, Agent, or FirmDressler,Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon of the transverse heat seal.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures GUSSETED ARTICLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to packages and moreparticularly to an improved method for making gusseted pouches and animproved pouch.

In many instances, pouches are utilized for enclosing medical orsurgical articles and the sealed pouch is then autoclaved to sterilizethe article enclosed therein. In some instances, the sterilized articlesare stored for an extended period of time before being used. In places,such as hospitals, it is mandatory that the article be maintained in abacteria free environment during storage.

Because of the shortcomings of heretofore commercially availablepackages or pouches that met autoclaving requirements, it has beencustomary to wrap the articles to be sterilized in numerous layers ofmuslin and provide an indicator tape within the package so that thesterilized article would'remain in a sterile condition during storageand the indicator give a visual showing when the article was no longersterile. If the articles were stored for any extended period of time,the autoclaving process had to be repeated to keep the articles in asterile condition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates an improvedgusseted pouch that has an extended bacteria free shelf-life andaccomodates articles of varying size. The pouches can readily be massproduced with normal heat sealing equipment.

The package or pouch consists of first and second webs of material withthe first web having a transverse dimension between opposed marginaledges that is greater than the transverse dimension of the second web.The two webs have coterminous adhered marginal edges. The first web hasa main body portion and an interconnecting segment being each marginaledge and the main body portion so that the first web can be movedrelative to the second web to accommodate articles of different sizebetween the webs.

The method for producing packages consists of folding a first web alongspaced fold lines to produce first and second overlapping portions withthe first fold lines spaced inwardly from the respective marginal edgesto expose a portion of the first web beyond the first fold lines. Thesecond web is then positioned adjacent the first web with theoverlapping portions located between the webs and the webs are heatsealed to each other along the exposed portions of the first web toproduce the gusseted tube. The gusseted tube can then be transformedinto individual packages or pouches by heat sealing transversely atlongitudinally spaced locations and cutting a web along onemarginal edgeof each webs at each end while the overlapping portions of the web arefree of any interconnection.

An article enclosed in a package of this type can readily be sterilizedand the polyester film will provide maximum visibility for any itemcontained therein.

BRIEF'DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspectiveview of two webs of material that are connected to form a tube, capableof being transformed into a sealed pouch;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken generally alongline 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tube shown in FIG. 1 after being sealed atone end;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the sealed end ofthe tube;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a completely sealed pouch with thecontents enclosed therein; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of apparatus that can be utilized forproducing the endless tubes and pouches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 of the drawing shows a tube 10 that iscapable of being formed into a sealed pouch. The tube or package 10consists of first and second webs of material 14 and 12. The first web14 has a transverse dimension between opposite marginal edges 16 that isgreater than the transverse dimension between the marginal edges of thesecond web 12 while the two webs are interconnected along the areasgenerally designated at 18 in FIG. 1 and will be described in moredetail hereinafter.

The first web 14 consists of a main body portion 20 that issubstantially coextensive in width to the width of the second web 12 andhas two interconnecting segments 22 respectively located between themarginal edges and the opposite sides of the main body portion. Theinterconnecting segments 22 (FIG. 2) each consist of a first overlappingportion 24 secured to the main body along a fold line 26 and a secondoverlapping portion 28 located between a second fold line 30 and themarginal edge 16. 7

As more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first fold lines 26 arelocated inwardly of the marginal edges 16 of the first web so as toexpose a portion of the upper surface of the second overlapping portion28, for a purpose which will be described later.

The tube 10 can readily be transformed into an open ended pouch byinterconnecting the two webs along transversely extending securing areas36 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Preferably, the two webs are secured to each otherby heat sealing. This will adhere the two webs directly to each otherbetween the two fold lines 30 while each first overlapping portion 24 issecured to the main body portion 20 of the firstv web at 40 and thesecondoverlapping portions 28 are secured to the second web alongsecuring areas 42. After the package has been formed to theconfiguration shown in FIG. 3 wherein the one end of the tube is sealedand the two marginal edges of the webs are secured to each other, thecontents or article may be inserted through the open end of the tube orpouch and the remaining end may be sealed in a manner similar to thatdescribed in connection with the first sealed end. The overlappingportions or interconnecting segment will allow the main body of thefirst or top web to move relative to the main body of the second orbottom web to allow the packaging of articles of different sizes. Thefinal configuration of the package is illustrated in FIG. 5.

The method for producing the package is schematically illustrated inFIG. 6. The method for manufacturing the webs consists of initiallyfolding the first web 12 along first and second fold lines 26 and 30located inwardly of each of the marginal edges 16 to produce the firstand second overlapping portions, 24 and 28. This folding may beaccomplished prior to placing the web on a roll 50 or alternatively maybe accomplished by a suitable folding mechanism (not shown) locatedadjacent the roll 50. The second web 14 of material is fed from a roll52 to a position adjacent the first web and below the overlappingportions so that the overlapping portions 24 and 28 are located betweenthe main body of the first web and the second web. The opposite marginaledges of the respective webs are transversely aligned with each otherand the two webs are adhered to each other adjacent the marginal edges.

In order to simplify the equipment necessary for adhering the two webswhile still having a visible article, it is desirable to utilize a heatsealing adhering means for securing the webs to each other and have atleast one transparent web. For this purpose, the upper or first web is apolyester film having a coating or laminate of a heat sealing material54 (FIG. 2) on the lower surface thereof. The second web or substrate isa paper that will allow steam to pass through it. The two webs can thenbe directly adhered using heat scaling rolls 60 and 62. Since the uppersurface of the first web is exposed adjacent each of the marginal edges,the heat sealing rolls can engage the upper web directly while a lowersupporting roll 62 is located below the lower web.

Also, using a polyester film, such as polyethylene terephthalate, thathas a coating or laminate of heat sealable material only on one surfacethereof, the contacting surfaces of the upper surface of the first webwill not adhere to each other during the heat sealing of the webs. Sincethe upper surface of the first web does not have heat sealingcharacteristics heat and pressure applied by the heating bars 46 willcause the two webs to adhere directly to each other between the twosecond fold lines 30, while the first overlapping portions 24 aresecured to the main body portion to the first web and the secondoverlapping portions 28 are secured to the second web, The overlappingportions are free of interconnection between the second folds 30 and themarginal edges 16.

If individual pouches are to be formed, one of the heating bars 46 willhave a cutter or severing means 48 to sever the two webs along one edgeof the transverse seal and produce the open ended pouch. If desired, thewebs could be scored or weakened rather than being cut so that thecontinuous webs would be placed on a roll for storage and shipment.

By proper selection of the materials for the two webs, an extremelypractical pouch can be produced that will have extended shelf-life. Withthe first web being a lamination ofa polyester film and a polypropylenefilm and the lower or second web is a surgical craft paper of lowreading of porosity, the pouch with an article sealed therein canreadily be sterilized and stored for periods of up to one year, whilestill having a bacteria free sterilized article. In addition, thearticle is readily visible through the film laminate.

It will be appreciated that any size of package or pouch can be made andthe amount of relative movement between the main body portion of one weband the second web or substrate will be dependent upon the spacingbetween the two second fold lines 30. Also, if additional sealing alongthe marginal edges is desired, the first fold lines 26 may be movedinwardly to expose a larger area of the second overlapping portion 28.Alternatively, the heat sealed areas 18 could extend under the foldlines 26 into the first overlapping portions merely by raising the firstoverlapping portion to expose a greater area of the second overlappingportion.

The pouch or endless tube could also be utilized for packaging manyother articles by proper selection of the two webs of material which maybe paper, plastic film, metal foil or various combinations thereof.

While the above description and the accompanying drawings describe andillustrate in detail one specific embodiment of the invention, it is tobe understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as anexemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intendedto limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

I claim:

1. A gusseted article formed from two webs of material interconnectedalong coterminous marginal edges comprising a first web of materialhaving a transverse dimension greater than the second web of material;said first web of material comprising a non-heat scalable film havingfirst and second spaced parallel fold lines adjacent each marginal edgeto produce a first inwardly extending portion and a second outwardlyextending portion having a transverse dimension greater than thetransverse dimension of the first portion whereby a gusset is formed insaid first web of material adjacent each marginal edge thereof with anouter area of each second portion extending outwardly beyond theadjacent first fold line whereby the outer area of each second portionis exposed at the marginal edges of said first web; means for adheringsaid first web of material to said second web of material includingmeans sealing the exposed outer area of the second portions of the firstweb along at least a portion of their length to an adjacent area of thesecond web to form a seal adjacent the two marginal edges of said firstand second webs, said adhering means further including closure formingmeans intersecting the sealed marginal edges of said first and secondwebs, said closure forming means being provided by means sealing thefacing surfaces of said first and second webs between said second foldlines, means sealing said inwardly extending first portions of saidfirst film to the adjacent surface of the first film, and means securingthe outwardly extending second film, said first and second portions ofsaid first web being in overlapped, unsealed relationship with respectto one another.

2. The gusseted article of claim 1 in which the means for adhering saidfirst web of material to said second web of material is a heat scalablecoating on the side of said first web facing said second web.

the second web is a metal foil.

5. An article as defined in claim 1 in which said webs have oppositeends and said closure forming means is adjacent at least one of saidends to form an open ended pouch and means for closing said open end.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO.318513314 DATED December 3; 1974 INVENTOR(S) Leo J. Stage It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Please correct claim -1 to read as follows:

1. A gusseted article formed from two webs of material interconnectedalong coterminous marginal edges comprising a first web of materialhaving a transverse dimension greater than the second web of material;said first web of material comprising a non-heat sealable film havingfirst and second spaced parallel fold lines adjacent each marginal edgeto produce a first inwardly extending portion and a second outwardlyextending portion having a transverse dimension greater than thetransverse dimension of the first portion whereby a gusset is formed insaid first web of material adjacent each marginal edge thereof with anouter area of each second portion extending outwardly beyond theadjacent first fold line whereby the outer area of each second portionis exposed at the marginal edges of said first web;

means for adhering said first web of material to said Patent No.3,851,814

Inventor: Leo J. Stage Page 2 second web of material including meanssealing the exposed outer area of the second portions of the first webalong at least a portion of their length to an adjacent area of thesecond web to form a seal adjacent the two marginal edges of said firstand second webs,

said adhering means further including closure forming means intersectingthe sealed marginal edges of said first and second webs, said closureforming means being provided by means sealing the facing surfaces ofsaid first and second webs between said second fold lines, means sealingsaid inwardly extending first portions of said first film to theadjacent surface of the first film, and means securing the outwardlyextending second portions of said first film to the facing surface ofsaid second film, said first and second portions of said first web beingin overlapped, unsealed relationship with respect to one another.

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of June 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C HASON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officerand Trademarks

1. A gusseted article formed from two webs of material interconnectedalong coterminous marginal edges comprising a first web of materialhaving a transverse dimension greater than the second web of material;said first web of material comprising a non-heat sealable film havingfirst and second spaced parallel fold lines adjacent each marginal edgeto produce a first inwardly extending portion and a second outwardlyextending portion having a transverse dimension greater than thetransverse dimension of the first portion whereby a gusset is formed insaid first web of material adjacent each marginal edge thereof with anouter area of each second portion extending outwardly beyond theadjacent first fold line whereby the outer area of each second portionis exposed at the marginal edges of said first web; means for adheringsaid first web of material to said second web of material includingmeans sealing the exposed outer area of the second portions of the firstweb along at least a portion of their length to an adjacent area of thesecond web to form a seal adjacent the two marginal edges of said firstand second webs, said adhering means further including closure formingmeans intersecting the sealed marginal edges of said first and secondwebs, said closure forming means being provided by means sealing thefacing surfaces of said first and second webs between said second foldlines, means sealing said inwardly extending first portions of saidfirst film to the adjacent surface of the first film, and means securingthe outwardly extending second film, said first and second portions ofsaid first web being in overlapped, unsealed relationship with respectto one another.
 2. The gusseted article of claim 1 in which the meansfor adhering said first web of material to said second web of materialis a heat sealable coating on the side of said first web facing saidsecond web.
 3. A gusseted article as defined in claim 1 in which saidfirst web is a non-heat sealable polyester film coated on one side witha heat sealable material and the second web is paper.
 4. A gussetedarticle as defined in claim 1 in which said first web is a non-heatsealable polyester film and the second web is a metal foil.
 5. Anarticle as defined in claim 1 in which said webs have opposite ends andsaid closure forming means is adjacent at least one of said ends to forman open ended pouch and means for closing said open end.